Felony Probation in Tampa

When an individual has limited prior charges, they are offered a chance to get out of jail faster and avoid prison sentences with probation. Unfortunately, people often encounter more of the Florida court system when they violate their probation terms. When people violate their probation, it is often referred to as VOP in Florida. Our attorneys at Hackworth Law can handle your case even if it is a violation of felony probation in Tampa.

There are two types of violations – technical and substantive. A technical violation involves someone violating a specific term of their probation, like failing a drug test, failing to complete community service hours, failing to pay court costs and fines, etc. A substantive violation involves someone being accused of committing a new law violation while on probation.  Our Tampa Violation of Probation Attorneys describe the distinction between the two more fully in our blog on our website in our article titled “What is a Tampa Violation of Probation (VOP) Charge?”

Unfortunately, if someone is on felony probation, they are not entitled to a bond on the VOP. This is very frustrating because it results in people sitting in custody for weeks and/or months, without the merits of their violation have not yet been considered.  Opportunities for bond are also extremely limited in violation of probation cases, we further discussed this elsewhere on our blog titled “Am I Entitled to Bond on a Violation of Probation or VOP?”

It is also worth noting that Violations of Probation also lead to increases in an individual’s Florida score sheet, they can ultimately lead to individuals scoring Florida State Prison, when they normally wouldn’t.   As we discuss elsewhere on our Tampa Violation of Probation Attorney blog, the standard of proof required by the State Attorney’s Office is also significantly lower in VOP cases.  In a regular criminal matter, the State Attorney’s Office is required to prove their allegations beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt.   It is also worth noting a criminal defendant is generally entitled to a jury.  While in violation of probation cases, the standard of proof is lowered to a preponderance of evidence and there is no right to a jury trial.  Felony Probation in Florida is monitored and supervised by the Florida Department of Corrections.

We conveniently offer free case consultations for probation violations, so you can better understand your exact circumstances and how to proceed. We make it easy for you to reach us in three separate ways. You can give us a call at a convenient time for you because we have assistants standing by 24 hours a day to help connect you with our attorneys. Next, you can utilize the contact us now tab in the upper right-hand corner of our website. The final option is to use our free, secure chat box located in the lower right-hand corner of our website. Whichever way you choose to communicate with us, we will help you through Florida felony probation violations.